Department for Transport

Transport

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in devolving transport powers to local authorities, it is their intention also to grant authorities the power to implement part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 so that they become responsible for tackling rising congestion and poor air quality or urban roads, and to promote more efficient bus operation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government will continue to work with local authorities to consider whether there are powers that would be appropriate to devolve as part of their devolution deals.

M11: Large Goods Vehicles

Lord Lansley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to make permanent the restriction on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11, following the trial.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are currently no restrictions on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11 and there are no plans to introduce restrictions. A permanent overtaking restriction on the uphill sections of the M11 between Junctions 8 and 9 is planned to be implemented in late 2016/17 subject to the completion of statutory processes and the availability of funding.

Home Office

Counter-terrorism: Schools

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to respond to the Institute of Race Relations' recent analysis Prevent and the Children's Rights Convention in which the new duties placed on schools to prevent children being drawn into terrorism have been tested against the key articles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Lord Bates: The Prevent duty is foremost about safeguarding vulnerable people – including children – from the dangers of radicalisation. We expect front line professionals, including teachers, to apply the duty in a proportionate manner.To support schools in understanding their responsibilities in relation to the duty, we published statutory guidance in March last year which set out what is expected of them. In June last year, the Department for Education issued practical advice for schools which complemented the statutory guidance. Last month a website called ‘Educate Against Hate’ was launched specifically for schools and parents, which provides advice and support on how to identify and respond to concerns about radicalisation. We are also rolling out a training programme to equip all teachers with an awareness of radicalisation and an understanding of what they can do to ensure that children and young people are safeguarded from its risks.It is important that when they have genuine concerns, people refer an individual to Channel, our voluntary programme to counter radicalisation, with the benefits that brings. A referral to Channel will be gauged in a way that defines an appropriate response.

Asylum: Children

Baroness Massey of Darwen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children seeking asylum in the UK they estimate not to be in education, and for how long; and what steps they plan to take to tackle this issue.

Lord Bates: Education is a devolved matter. Parents of children of compulsory school age have a duty to ensure their children receive a full time education suitable to the children’s age, ability, aptitude and any special education need the children might have, either by regular attendance at a school or otherwise.Where a child of compulsory school age (including children of asylum seekers) is not registered at a school or receiving an education other than at a school, the relevant local authority has the power to require that parent to satisfy them as to the suitability of the education being provided for that child.If they are not satisfied then the local authority can require the child to register at a named school. However, the issue of education provision for children seeking asylum is an important one and the Home Office makes every effort to ensure that families with children who claim asylum support have access to education at the earliest opportunity.

Police Custody: Children

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent children being detained in police cells overnight because no suitable local authority accommodation is available.

Lord Bates: The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are protected and treated appropriately while in police custody. This is why in January last year, the Home Secretary commissioned a multi-agency Working Group on Section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which concerns the transfer of children from police custody to local authority care when charged and denied bail. The purpose of the group is to better understand the problems with the operation of the law and to develop solutions to enable forces and local authorities to meet their respective statutory responsibilities. The group is currently finalising a package of measures and will present these to the Home Secretary once the work is complete.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

English Language: Education

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many ESOL classes were run by further education colleges and other public sector bodies in each of the last 10 years including the current academic year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We do not collect data on numbers of classes, but on participation. English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) participation is published as part of a Statistical First Release. The table below shows ESOL participation since 2005/06. It is worth noting that figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers. Adult (19+) FE and Skills - English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Participation (2005/06 to 2015/16 Reported-to-Date) ESOL participation  2005/06 Full Year272,700  2006/07 Full Year214,000  2007/08 Full Year193,300  2008/09 Full Year188,700  2009/10 Full Year178,600  2010/11 Full Year163,600  2011/12 Full Year139,400  2012/13 Full Year146,200  2013/14 Full Year139,200  2014/15 Full Year131,100  Notes:   1) The source is the Individualised Learner Record.2) This table includes Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, Community Learning and Education and Training provision taken at General Further Education Colleges (including Tertiary), Sixth Form Colleges, Special Colleges (Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges), Specialist Colleges and External Institutions.3) Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred.4) Figures for 2008/09 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as the introduction of demand led funding has changed how data is collected and how funded learners are defined from 2008/09 onwards.Data reported so far for the first quarter of 2015/16 show that 71,500 learners participated in ESOL between August and October 2015. This is in-year data which is subject to revisions and cannot be compared with data from earlier years.

Adult Education

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce local outcome agreements for the Adult Skills Budget in devolved areas.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The conditions under which we will devolve funding to combined authorities are set out in the relevant devolution agreements. When funding has been devolved the Combined Authority will be responsible for allocations to providers and the outcomes to be achieved, consistent with statutory entitlements. Government will not seek to second guess these decisions, but it will set proportionate requirements about outcome information to be collected in order to allow students to make informed choices.

Trading Standards

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their review into Trading Standards, first announced on 10 July 2015 as part of their report into productivity Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is still considering the issues raised during this review and will respond in due course.

Trading Standards

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their reasons are for the delay in publishing their review of Trading Standards, outlined in the report on productivity Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, in the light of the fact that the competition plan A better deal: boosting competition for families and firms published in November 2015 stated that the review had been completed.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is still considering the issues raised during this review and will respond in due course.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Buildings

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announced closure of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Sheffield office and their proposal to establish six new business centres across the country, where those proposed new centres will be located.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As part of the Department’s change programme, BIS2020, we anticipate reducing the number of our locations from more than 80 to approximately 7 centres plus a regional footprint. Beyond the announcement made about our Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place on 28 January, we do not yet know exactly which sites will be retained or closed over the course of the Parliament. By 2020 the majority of employees in BIS and its Partner Organisations will continue to be based outside London through a number of centres – such as in Birmingham, Glasgow, and Swindon – as well as a regional footprint for the provision of local services.

Department for International Development

Syria: Food Supply

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of eyewitness accounts of starvation from across Syria; what action they have taken following that assessment; and in particular whether they will discuss with the government of Russia the provision of supplies by land and by air.

Baroness Verma: No one who has seen the images coming out of Madaya and other besieged towns can say this situation is anything other than utterly appalling. Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. It is unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. We are deeply concerned about the 4.6 million people who live in hard to reach areas, including almost 486,700 who live under siege conditions.We have given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas. On 11 January, the UN, Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed aid convoys had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived. These convoys are expected to enable 40,000 people inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya, to survive. UK funding to UN agencies directly supported these convoys with food parcels and medicine.However, humanitarian access to those in need continues to shrink. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard-to-reach areas have been approved and delivered. That’s why it is vital we keep up the pressure on the regime and other conflict parties to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access. Russia, in particular, has a special obligation to confront and condemn the atrocities being carried out against Syrian civilians.When it comes to helping Syrians in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, we do not rule anything out but, right now, air drops are not a viable way of getting help to those in need. Use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Critically, the UN is not currently calling for their use.We are aware of reports of Russian airdrops into Deir Ez Zour. We are working to verify these claims and understand the nature and impact of any such airdrops, including the extent to which they may be effectively addressing needs. Unlike Madaya, Deir Ez Zour city is under regime control and is surrounded by Daesh.

Developing Countries: Mental Health Services

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Department for International Development spent on mental health in low- and middle-income countries in 2015.

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proportion of the Department for International Development funding for mental health in low- and middle-income countries has increased or decreased in the last year for which figures are available.

Baroness Verma: Tracking of inputs, allocations and expenditure is based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) codes, which are used for reporting official development assistance.The UK’s health focus in developing countries is on improving the provision of basic health services for the poor by strengthening and supporting health systems, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including non-communicable diseases, like mental disorders and dementia.DFID is helping countries to make fairer, transparent and evidence-based decisions about how to set priorities and allocate resources in health. We support research on mental health through our PRIME (Programme for Improving Mental Health Care) programme. This research is providing world class evidence on implementation and scaling up for treatment programmes and having this adopted by policy makers.

Developing Countries: Mental Health Services

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development will value mental health equally with physical health in its funding decisions.

Baroness Verma: The UK has lobbied hard to make sure the Global Goals cover the areas not covered by the Millennium Development Goals, to make sure nobody is left behind, including in health, which is a significant step forward. DFID’s principal approach to supporting the Global Goal for health is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive and focused on ending chronic poverty forever, for everyone, everywhere. The UK has been a strong and consistent supporter of the need to achieve Universal Health Coverage.We also support research, together with specific work on mental health. For example, in Ghana, addressing mental health is a specific focus within DFID’s health sector support programme as well as under the Health Partnership Scheme, DFID is helping to establish a community-based programme of mental health care in Malawi to improve care of people with common and severe mental health illnesses. DFID is also providing support for mental health services for Syrian refugees, including those traumatised by the conflict.

Developing Countries: Mental Health Services

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the recent inclusion of mental health targets under Sustainable Development Goal 3, whether the Department for International Development plans to review its strategy for funding mental health in low- and middle-income countries.

Baroness Verma: The UK’s health focus in developing countries is on improving the provision of basic health services for the poor by supporting and strengthening health systems, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including non-communicable diseases, like mental disorders and dementia.The Global Goals are a major landmark in our fight against poverty. The UK has lobbied hard to make sure the Global Goals cover the areas not covered by the Millennium Development Goals, to make sure nobody is left behind including those most marginalized. DFID’s principal approach to supporting the Global Goal for health is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive and focused on ending chronic poverty forever, for everyone, everywhere. The UK has been a strong and consistent supporter of the need to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Afghanistan: Females

Baroness Quin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what ways they are currently supporting the education and advancement of women in Afghanistan.

Baroness Verma: The UK has prioritised education for girls as part of its development support to Afghanistan. The UK provides £58 million through its Girls Education Challenge Fund, which supports over 180,000 girls in some of the poorest rural and hard to reach areas of Afghanistan to have better access to a quality education. In addition the UK supports the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a World-Bank managed multi-donor fund. A proportion of this is used to support education and as a result, in 2015 there were more than 3.2 million Afghan girls attending school compared to virtually none in 2001.The UK also supports programmes to protect women from violence, promote women’s economic empowerment, and strengthen political participation – all necessary to achieve lasting and transformative change for women in Afghanistan.

Zika Virus

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will help to ensure that women have access to family planning throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

Baroness Verma: The importance of comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rightsbased Family Planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives.We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions and will continue to do all we can to support their efforts. The Government is determined to support the international community in responding to the Zika virus. The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats like Zika. We are the second largest national funder of WHO and have also provided political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security DFID contributed £6.2 million to WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies which is available for the management of Zika.Affected countries are working closely with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) which serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. PAHO and governments across the region are issuing information on the emerging Zika infection. DFID will keep under review its support to countries affected by Zika viral infections and along with other Government Departments we welcome the WHO emergency committee statement issued on Monday 1st February.

Burundi: Refugees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those refugees from Burundi now living in camps in neighbouring countries do not become politicised and radicalised.

Baroness Verma: We are aware of allegations of recruitment into armed groups. We continue to emphasise to the Government of Rwanda and UNHCR the importance of maintaining the civilian nature of refugee camps, and of supporting a political solution in Burundi. We are addressing the issue of potential radicalisation by supporting protection work in the refugee camps, in particular Mahama Camp in Rwanda, focusing particularly on vulnerable children and youth. This includes funding two additional UNHCR protection officers to be based in Mahama camp, the creation of more child and youth-friendly spaces, and increased provision of psycho-social support and case management services.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 1 February (HL5238), what proportion of UK aid spending on water, sanitation and hygiene is targeted at the maintenance and upkeep of existing facilities.

Baroness Verma: Our WASH programmes take an integrated approach to both provision and maintenance of existing facilities, involving building national, local and community capacity and systems to ensure that services continue to function over time. In 2014, total UK bilateral ODA spending on water supply and sanitation was £181 million. UK aid expenditure is reported in Statistics on International Development report at table A6a which I have attached for your convenience.We do not collect data separately on the amount of funds allocated to installation of facilities and their subsequent maintenance. In most countries responsibility for financing operation and maintenance is passed to the community where services have been installed, after appropriate training has been provided. 



SID
(PDF Document, 2.86 MB)

Ministry of Justice

Women's Centres

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Corston review in 2007, how many women's centres there are in the UK; where those centres are located; to what extent those centres support women on remand or serving community sentences; and what plans they have to establish additional centres.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: We do not collate information centrally about the numbers and locations of women’s centres across the UK or the services that they offer. The Government believes that future funding for women’s centres should lie at the local level, as local experts know what works in their community and how best to deliver services. We are encouraging and supporting areas to bring together local agencies in the criminal justice, statutory and third sectors to develop a joined-up, multi-agency approach to address the often complex needs of female offenders.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are planning to take to end fraudulent whiplash insurance claims.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The Government is determined to crack down on the compensation culture and insurance fraud.. We therefore announced, in the Autumn Statement, that we will limit the right to damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in low value whiplash claims and raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. These reforms build on previous measures taken forward by the Ministry of Justice to control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims. The Government will consult on the detail of the new measures in due course.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Employment Agencies

Lord Storey: To ask the Chairman of Committees how many agency staff are employed by the House of Lords; and whether those staff are paid the London Living Wage.

Lord Laming: The House currently employs approximately 34 agency staff in each sitting week. The majority of these staff are deployed in Catering and Retail Services.The House of Lords is accredited by Citizens UK (CUK) as a London Living Wage Employer. The terms of its accreditation licence require that contractors and sub-contractors with dedicated staff who are based on parliamentary premises are paying those staff at least the London Living Wage.In accordance with the terms of the accreditation licence, all agency staff are paid at least the London Living Wage rate from day 1 of week 9 if they are working on parliamentary premises and employed for at least two hours of work in a week, for 8 consecutive weeks in a year.

House of Lords: Zero Hours Contracts

Lord Storey: To ask the Chairman of Committees how many people are employed by the House of Lords on zero-hours contracts.

Lord Laming: The House of Lords does not employ any staff on zero-hours contracts on an exclusive basis. It employs 21 staff on zero-hours contracts in the Catering and Retail Services department, primarily for banqueting events. These are roles where staffing demands vary significantly week to week and are often unpredictable. The House also employs 23 freelance Hansard reporters.Zero-hours staff employed by the House of Lords are free to turn down shifts offered by the House. They have equivalent employment rights to full-time staff including pension and holiday pay entitlements, which are better than those of most agency staff. All staff in the House of Lords, including those on these contracts, are paid at least the London Living Wage.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Public Libraries

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many public libraries there are in the UK, and how many there were in 2010.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service that takes account of local needs within available resources. Statistics for the number of public libraries published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy do not include figures for Northern Ireland, so it is not possible to provide the number of public libraries in the UK. However, in the rest of the country, the total number of public library service points open ten hours or more per week at 31 March 2015 was 3,917, compared with 4,356 in 2010. Based on desk research undertaken by the Department, we estimate that from January 2010 to January 2016 only approximately 110 static public libraries in England closed. Government has the power to ensure public libraries comply with the law, and where individual authorities have failed to meet this duty we will - and have - intervened.This Government is helping libraries innovate, to ensure they serve the needs of local communities - particularly through the expansion of their digital offer. In the latest spending round we secured extra funding for our Libraries Task Force, set up in 2014, to promote the role of digital and share best practice between councils, and we have funded the rollout of free Wi-Fi in 99% of public libraries in England. E-book loans have rocketed more than four-fold from nearly 445,000 in 2011/12 to over 2.3 million in 2014/15.

National Gallery

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the announcement of the sale of Corbis, Corbis Motion and Veer, what assessment they have made of how the interests of the UK and of the National Gallery, whose picture bank was put into data files and a database by Corbis, have been protected.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The National Gallery operates at Arm’s length from DCMS, and as such has responsibility for its own mage licensing arrangements. The arrangements between the National Gallery and Corbis in relation to the licensing of National Gallery images came to an end on 31 August 2008. When the arrangements terminated all National Gallery images were returned to the Gallery. As a result, the sale of Corbis, Corbis Motion and Veer, has no implications for the National Gallery. Ownership of the National Gallery database of images rests with, and has always rested with, the Gallery itself.

National Gallery

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of who now owns the National Gallery database of images, and of the arrangements in place to protect the database of the National Gallery from being exploited to the prejudice of that institution.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The National Gallery operates at Arm’s length from DCMS, and as such has responsibility for its own image licensing arrangements. Ownership of the National Gallery database of images rests with, and has always rested with, the Gallery itself. The arrangements between the National Gallery and Corbis in relation to the licensing of National Gallery images came to an end on 31 August 2008. When the arrangements terminated all National Gallery images were returned to the Gallery.

Olympic Games: Brazil

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had, or intend to have, talks with the British Athletic Association about the case for Team GB considering withdrawing from the 2016 Olympic Games due to the risk posed by the Zika virus to pregnant mothers and unborn children.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: My Department is in regular contact with the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association on a range of issues. The risk to those travelling to the regions affected by the Zika virus will continue to be monitored.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Parish Councils

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of towns in England with a population of (1) between 30,000 and 50,000, (2) between 15,000 and 30,000, and (3) under 15,000, which do not possess a town or parish council.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There is no legal definition of what constitutes a town. Settlements tend to arbitrarily classify themselves as towns as they get bigger. Therefore there is no Government list of towns in England and no centrally held record of when settlements began to classify themselves as towns.The Office for National Statistics does not hold data for towns, as they are not classed as administrative units, except where they have a town council.Civil parishes have existed since 1894 (before that they existed mainly as ecclesiastical bodies). Parishes vary enormously in size from areas with about 100 electors to large towns with 70,000 electors which are on a par with some small districts.Lists of parishes and principal local authorities in England (attached) can be found at:http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/products/names--codes-and-look-ups/names-and-codes-listings/index.html



List of parishes
(Excel SpreadSheet, 378.63 KB)




List of local authorities
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.27 KB)

Neighbourhood Development Plans

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Neighbourhood Development Orders have been approved by referendum in each year since and including 2012; where those referendums were held; and what development each referendum authorised.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Department does not undertake formal monitoring of Neighbourhood Development Orders, however we are aware of four Neighbourhood Development Orders that have passed referendum since 2012, including three Community Right to Build Orders. Details are set out in the attached table.  



Neighboorhood Development Orders
(Word Document, 26.06 KB)

Council Housing: Secure Tenancies

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current average length of a local authority secure tenancy.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Information is not held centrally on the length of life time local authority tenancies. The English Housing Survey showed that in 2013/14 the average time that local authority tenants had lived in their current home was just over 12 and a half years.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many fixed-term local authority tenancies will be granted annually.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The provisions in the Housing and Planning Bill will ensure that in future all local authority tenancies granted to new tenants will be on a fixed-term basis. Local authorities will have a limited discretion to offer further lifetime tenancies to existing tenants who seek to transfer to another social home.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated reduction in the number of local authority right-to-buy applications annually as a result of the introduction of fixed-term tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Right to Buy will continue to apply to new fixed-term tenancies as it already does to flexible tenancies. Tenants will still be able to fulfil their aspirations of owning their own home.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the annual change in local authority rental income as a result of the introduction of fixed-term tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not expect the introduction of fixed-term tenancies will have a material impact on local authority rental income.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on community cohesion of the introduction of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Continuing to provide lifetime tenancies to households that may only experience temporary need compounds the situation that sees 1.2 million households on social housing waiting lists, and 236,000 social tenants forced to live in overcrowded conditions due to lack of suitably sized properties, while 380,000 households occupy social housing with two or more spare bedrooms. This is not a good use of scarce social housing and it is not likely to lead to strong and cohesive communities.The provisions in the Housing and Planning Bill require that towards the end of the fixed term the landlord must review the tenant’s circumstances. Where they are broadly unchanged, the landlord will be able to grant a further tenancy in the same home.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they have completed on the introduction of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The previous Coalition Government consulted on proposals to create a new local authority flexible tenancy with a minimum fixed term of two years in November 2010 – in ‘Local decisions: a fairer future for social housing’. The flexible tenancy was introduced by the Localism Act 2011.In the Summer Budget 2015, the Government announced the intention to review the use of lifetime tenancies in social housing to limit their use and ensure that households are offered tenancies that match their needs and make best use of the social housing stock.Since then DCLG officials have engaged with local authority landlords, through a series of meetings and regionally based focus groups, in developing proposals to introduce a new fixed-term tenancy of between 2 and 5 years.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from bodies and organisations in support of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I refer the noble Lord to my answer to him to question HL5779.

Council Housing: Tenancy Agreements

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact they expect fixed-term tenancies to have on (1) local authorities' ability to fulfil their housing obligations for homeless families, and (2) levels of homelessness.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Homeless households and those owed the main homelessness duty will continue to be prioritised for social housing by means of the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ categories.The requirement for local authorities to offer fixed-term tenancies in future is designed to ensure that landlords get the best use out of their social housing by focusing it on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. As it should increase the number of available social lettings over time, it should mean that more homeless households are able to access the social rented sector.

HM Treasury

Financial Services

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have commissioned to identify the future needs of customers for financial services delivered (1) through digital channels, and (2) via physical premises.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Part of the government’s long term economic plan is to ensure that banks serve all sections of society. The government is committed to increasing competition to deliver innovation and good financial products and services for all customers. The government launched an international FinTech benchmarking exercise to identify emerging areas of opportunity for FinTech in the UK in November 2015. This exercise is being carried out by Ernst & Young, and findings are due to be delivered in early 2016. The report will look at the future needs of customers for financial services delivered through digital channels. The Government has not commissioned research to identify the future needs of customers for financial services delivered via physical premises. However the Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. Since May 2015, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. There is a commitment to a review of the operation of the protocol after one year, and the government looks forward to the publication of its conclusions.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Lord McAvoy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Joint Exchequer Committee's negotiations will conclude, and when the fiscal framework will be published.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Whilst there is no set date for the Joint Exchequer Committee to conclude negotiations on the fiscal framework, the UK government is doing everything it can to achieve an agreement. The Business Managers and usual channels have agreed to move the final day in Committee on the Scotland Bill to Monday 22 February to allow more time for negotiations between the Scottish and UK Governments to progress. The UK government is working towards a deal that is fair for Scotland, fair for the UK and meets all of the principles of the Smith Commission Agreement. The fiscal framework document will be published shortly after it is agreed.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Lord McAvoy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the minutes and papers of the last seven meetings of the Joint Exchequer Committee.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The UK and Scottish governments publish a joint communique after each meeting of the Joint Exchequer Committee, it outlines what was discussed at the meeting. The negotiations are ongoing and require a private space in which discussions can make progress. The UK government has no plans to publish any further minutes or papers from the Joint Exchequer Committee.

Child Benefit: EU Nationals

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on, or reciprocal measures that may be taken against, British nationals living in other EU member states arising from any steps taken to reduce the amount of child benefit paid by the UK to EU migrants in the UK that may be repatriated to the migrants' home countries.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Details of the proposals for child benefit is subject to the ongoing negotiation.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of benefit payments made to EU immigrants for their children living in their home countries during the last two years for which figures are available.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The information is not available.

Cabinet Office

Digital Technology: Proof of Identity

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to promote the delivery of a system of secure digital identities.

Lord Bridges of Headley: GOV.UK Verify is the new way to prove who you are online so you can access digital services securely and safely, without having to use postal or face-to-face services. It is on target to go live by April 2016, and so far nearly half a million identities have been verified, with the service used more than 1 million times. GOV.UK Verify helps fight the growing problem of online identity theft and makes sure people only have access to their own records and services.It's the first of its kind in the world, allowing users create a verified digital identity with their choice of certified company from a range of high quality providers. Feedback from users has described GOV.UK Verify as “excellent” and “very impressive”.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 11 January (HL4782) whether they have any plans to cap or curtail the Chilcot Inquiry’s expenses or costs before it reports.

Lord Bridges of Headley: No.

Department of Health

Artificial Insemination

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5040), what assessment they and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have made of the case for all women and their children receiving equal protections; and what recommendations the HFEA has made to the Department of Health on that issue.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embyrology Authority has not made an assessment of the case for women who obtain sperm in a private arrangement (and any resulting children) to have the same protections as women who obtain sperm through a licensed clinic, for the reasons set out in the response to the Noble Lord on 27 January (HL5040).

Smoking

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3861), what assessment they have made of why, when the UK ranks number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, nine other European countries have lower levels of smoking prevalence.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Countries use different ways to assess smoking prevalence within their population and there is variation as to whether they include daily, weekly, or occasional smokers within the figures. It is therefore not always possible to compare smoking prevalence rates directly between countries. In contrast, Joossens and Raws’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, uses a set criteria to assess the implementation of tobacco control policies across European countries, enabling a direct comparison to be made between the countries of tobacco control measures.

Health: Finance

Baroness Walmsley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will inform local authorities how much their public health budgets will be in 2016–17 and 2017–18, and why that information has not yet been provided.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Local authorities’ public health allocations for 2016-17 and indicative allocations for 2017-18 were published on 11 February 2016. Allocations are set out in the attached document. 



Public Health Allocations
(PDF Document, 250.24 KB)

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health, Melanie Johnson, on 11 May 2004 (HC Deb, col 315W), by Lord Darzi of Denham on 21 April 2008 (WA 235) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether it remains the case that lay summaries of research proposals submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) are placed on its website with an invitation to the public to submit comments; if so, when the last licence applications and lay summaries were placed on its website; where and when the title of the licence application to use CRISPR-Cas9 and the lay summary submitted by the applicant were published on the HFEA website; and why the section of the HFEA website that describes human embryo research awaiting approval (http://www.hfea.gov.uk/167.html) has continued to state that there "are currently no research projects awaiting approval".

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that lay summaries of research proposals submitted to the Authority are no longer placed on its website prior to consideration by a HFEA Licence Committee. Lay summaries are, however, available on the website in the inspection report for each research project, linked to a list of all licensed research projects. The noble Lord is correct that the HFEA website still mistakenly refers to past practice. We are advised that this will be rectified shortly.

Stem Cells

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has received that bona fide trophectoderm stem cells have already been successfully derived and propagated from human embryos; whether any such stem cell lines have been deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank; and if so, when.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it holds information on the number of stem cell lines derived in each licensed research project and checks for compliance (on inspection) with the requirement for stem cell lines to be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. However, this information does not differentiate between stem cells derived from the inner cell mass and those from trophectoderm.

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 July 2015 (HL1524), how many modifications can be made to an existing research licence previously approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority before it can no longer be legitimately considered as essentially the same research project as that for which a licence was originally sought; and what sort of modifications can be made to an existing research licence before it is no longer considered to have exactly the same aims as those in the initial licence application that were originally deemed to fulfil the purposes specified in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 as amended.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that there are no fixed number of modifications that can be made to an existing research licence project. Such questions are considered on a case by case basis with reference to the statutory tests.

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether they are now able to say whether a stated aim of the recently approved application by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 was, and remains, to better understand why miscarriages occur in some pregnancies; and if not, whether the description of that research that will be made public will disclose the specific assay the researchers concerned had proposed using to determine whether embryos subjected to gene editing might be either able or unable to implant in a womb.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether they will place in the Library of the House a full copy of the original licence application submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9; whether this will also be published on the HFEA website, and if not, why not; and whether the HFEA will provide a full report on its website of how the ethical implications of genome editing in human embryos had been considered before giving approval to proceed.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether they will place in the Library of the House a full copy of the responses to peer reviewers by the person responsible for the recently approved licence application submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9; to what extent the HFEA’s Executive followed the recommendations raised by both of their peer reviewers; and on how many occasions the HFEA’s Executive have made decisions against the recommendations of all appointed peer reviewers.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the patient information and consent forms submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by the person responsible in order to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) publishes on its website the inspection report relating to a licence renewal application and the minutes of the Licence Committee’s decision. It does not publish other information associated with a licence application. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended) permits the genetic modification of embryos in research, subject to an HFEA licence. As the regulator, the HFEA’s responsibility is to apply the test in the legislation, namely that the research is necessary or desirable for any of the purposes specified in the Act and that the use of embryos is necessary. The Licence Committee has added a condition to the licence that no research using genome editing may take place until it has received approval from an NHS Research Ethics Committee.

Prescriptions: Students

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost of giving free prescriptions to students in full-time education.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how much the average student spends per year on prescriptions.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are unable to provide the cost of giving free prescriptions to students in full-time education. The estimated cost of giving free prescriptions to those young people aged 16, 17 and 18 in full-time education for the period April 2014 to March 2015 is £68,088,373. This is based on information captured when processing National Health Service FP10 prescription forms which were dispensed in the community during the period April 2014 to March 2015. We do not hold the information on how much the average student spends per year on prescriptions.

Prescriptions: Students

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether students qualify for the NHS Low Income Scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the NHS Low Income Scheme refers to personal income or family income with regard to university students.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS Low Income Scheme provides income-related help with health costs to students, as for all other adults. The extent of any help is based on a comparison between a person’s weekly income and requirements at the date they apply to the NHS Low Income Scheme. For a student, income will include any maintenance grant or loan available, the assessment of which may be based on parental income, and the amount of parental contribution assessed by an education authority as payable. Any other income a student may have, such as non-assessed contributions from parents or earnings, will also be taken into account in calculating entitlement. Bursaries will not be included so long as they are clearly not intended for day to day living expenses.

Better Care Fund

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the quality of social care and support systems, including independent living of the elderly and disabled people, of not providing extra funding for the Better Care Fund in 2016–17

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government’s decision to introduce the adult social care precept from 2016/17 and additional Better Care Fund funding from 2018/19 reflected consideration of social care cost pressures as part of the Spending Review process. Under the Care Act councils are obliged to ensure that any person in its area wishing to access services in the market has a variety of high quality services to choose from.

Mental Health: Older People

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been undertaken about the impact and demands for public health and care services due to loneliness and isolation suffered by pensioners, in the light of the Local Government Association's estimate that more than one million people aged over 65 are lonely.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department recognises that loneliness can have a negative impact on a person’s general health and has prioritised prevention through the Care Act 2014. The Department has not undertaken an analysis of the impact loneliness places on public health and care services. We do take account of research in developing our policies, including or example, the Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) which shows that loneliness has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, is worse for us than obesity, and is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease. A copy of the Campaign to End Loneliness report is attached. The Local Government Association has highlighted that loneliness is a complex problem. A range of interventions and solutions are required to identify adults who are lonely or socially isolated and to provide them with the support they require.As part of Public Health England’s programme of work to support local action on health inequalities, we commissioned the UCL Institute of Health Equity to produce a series of resources setting out practical approaches that local areas could adopt to reduce health inequalities. One resource in the series focuses on social isolation across the lifecourse. It provides information and guidance to support local authorities, NHS clinical commissioning groups and their stakeholders to develop effective strategies to prevent and reduce social isolation. A copy of Reducing social isolation across the lifecourse is attached.  



Loneliness: the State We're In
(PDF Document, 467.72 KB)




Reducing Social Isolation
(PDF Document, 1020.73 KB)

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 19 January (HL Deb, col 641) about the potential fortification of bread with folic acid to prevent neural tube defects in pregnancy, why they do not apply the argument "around choice and whether or not it is right to medicate the entire population for the benefit of a fairly small part of it" to the fluoridation of water supplies to prevent caries.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It has been the policy of successive governments that decisions on water fluoridation are best taken locally. There is a duty to consult the local population where local authorities propose the establishment of a new water fluoridation scheme. Some areas of the country have water supplies that naturally contain levels of fluoride similar to the target level for water fluoridation schemes where the levels are adjusted.

Dental Health: Children

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 16 January 2013 (HL4464) describing the Childsmile programme as "very encouraging", whether they can give further information about the benefits of the programme as an alternative to water fluoridation in addressing dental decay and social inequalities in dental health.

Lord Prior of Brampton: There are a variety of community based oral health improvement programmes that have been shown to be effective in reducing dental decay. No single intervention is likely to provide a solution to oral health improvement priorities and many work together for maximum benefit, for example water fluoridation and fluoride toothpaste.Public Health England recently reviewed such programmes and published an evidence informed toolkit entitled; Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people, for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement. Local authorities can therefore consider a range of oral health improvement programmes (including those which make up the Childsmile programme in Scotland and water fluoridation) and decide which or which combination is most appropriate to their local population’s needs. A copy of the toolkit is attached.



Local authorities improving oral health toolkit
(PDF Document, 1.92 MB)

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 16 January 2013 (HL4464), whether the potential disadvantages as well as advantages of water fluoridation for young children "are enjoyed regardless of personal behaviour".

Lord Prior of Brampton: Scientific reviews over many years have shown that water fluoridation is an effective and safe public health measure. It is known that consuming fluoride in water at levels permitted by United Kingdom legislation, whether as a result of fluoridation or present naturally, can contribute to the risk of dental fluorosis, as can other sources of fluoride such as toothpaste if swallowed in excessive amounts.In 2014 Public Health England published Water fluoridation Health monitoring report forEngland, acting as guidance for dental teams on the prevention of dental disease in their patients. This included advice on reducing the risk of dental fluorosis from toothpaste ingestion among their patients, in particular young children. A copy of this guidance is attached.



Water Fluoridation Health Monitoring Report
(PDF Document, 1.5 MB)

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the percentage of water involved in fluoridation schemes that reaches the teeth of children it is designed to benefit, taking account of industrial, agricultural, municipal, domestic and other usage, and of the leakage from mains supplies.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The 2008 Water Strategy for England reported that households account for 52% of the use of public water supplies. Around 7% of the water used in homes is used for drinking and cooking; an additional percentage will be used for tooth brushing.There are no separate figures for water supplied in fluoridation schemes. Such schemes tend to supply more urban areas and it is reasonable to expect a greater domestic use than would be the case for supplies serving areas with significant agricultural or industrial use.

Bladder Cancer

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to ensure that treatment for bladder cancer under the NHS is accessible equally by all patients irrespective of home address.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is not aware of any general variation in access to bladder cancer treatment.

Bladder Cancer

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are giving to the campaign by Public Health England and various cancer charities to raise awareness of bladder cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The “Blood in Pee” campaign focuses on early symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer. The campaign has run twice at a national level from 15 October to 20 November 2013 and 13 October to 23 November 2014, following successful local and regional pilots and will be re-running from 15 February to 31 March 2016. The campaign will use a wide range of media, including national television and radio advertising, to promote the key message “If you notice blood in your pee, even if it’s just the once, tell your doctor”.Public Health England (PHE) works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are also targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals. PHE also works closely with the devolved administrations to ensure consistency of messages on their own campaigns and initiatives.The Department notifies key stakeholders including charities about forthcoming campaigns and has engaged with relevant charities to review the campaign leaflet and source case studies for the bladder and kidney campaign. A copy of the leaflet has been attached Information for the general public will be available on NHS Choices. This is an online only resource.



Blood in Pee Leaflet
(PDF Document, 1.46 MB)

Atrial Fibrillation: East Midlands

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the East Midlands Strategic Clinical Network is taking to diagnose atrial fibrillation and prevent atrial fibrillation-related strokes.

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that best practice on diagnosing atrial fibrillation and preventing atrial fibrillation-related stroke is shared between Strategic Clinical Networks.

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action NHS Improving Quality is taking to increase the number of general practitioner practices using the GRASP-AF tool.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England’s Sustainable Improvement Team, which has taken over the work of NHS Improving Quality, is taking action to promote the use of GRASP-AF (Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation) within general practitioner (GP) practices in England. GRASP-AF is an audit tool developed by and trialled in the National Health Service, which greatly simplifies the process of identifying patients with AF who are not receiving the right management to help reduce their risk of stroke. The Sustainable Improvement Team is currently collaborating with partner organisations, including charities, to support the nationwide roll-out of GRASP-AF. To support this work, an analysis of the costs and benefits of using the anticoagulant drug warfarin to help prevent stroke in people with AF was recently published. A copy of this analysis is attached. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also published a Quality Standard on AF in July 2015, which sets out what a high quality AF service should look like and will help drive improvement locally. A copy of this Quality Standard is attached. There is also a wealth of information available on the detection and management of people who have AF. The NHS Atlas of Variation includes such data and similarly Public Health England (working with stakeholders) has produced information for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to enable them to identify and encourage poorly performing areas to improve their detection and management of people with AF. The Atlas is an online tool and therefore it is not possible to attach a copy.These resources are available to Strategic Clinical Networks to help them with their work to improve the prevention and diagnosis of AF locally. AF related stroke prevention has been a significant area of focus for the East Midlands Cardiovascular Strategic Clinical Network in recent years. Actions include: - providing individual advice to CCGs in the area, supporting CCGs to implement AF training for GPs;- supporting CCGs to implement GRASP-AF;- developing a non-valvular AF anticoagulation algorithm which has informed updates to local AF guidelines;- developing an electronic clinical template for the diagnosis and management of AF; and- promoting the use of the warfarin patient safety audit tool. AF is also covered as in the National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network’s masterclass programme aimed at all NHS health professionals within CCGs, local authorities and clinical services with an interest in cardiovascular disease data tools and information. 



Economic Analysis
(PDF Document, 289.36 KB)




Quality Standard
(PDF Document, 150.01 KB)

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the budget estimate in relation to the projects to be delivered in the 2015–16 grant application from the group Action on Smoking and Health and all other budget estimates received by the Department of Health in each of the last five years from that organisation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The proposed budget estimates received from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for each of the last five years for a Section 64 grant is attached. Commercially sensitive information has been redacted. As the agreed project outputs make clear, the 2015-16 Section 64 grant funding awarded to ASH will be spent in the current financial year, including work relating to preparation for legislation coming into force later in 2016. 



ASH Budget estimates
(PDF Document, 605.52 KB)

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health for 2015–16 relates to activities to be delivered beyond the end of the financial year; and, as the grant conditions stipulate that such activities must be delivered prior to that day, whether they will investigate.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The proposed budget estimates received from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for each of the last five years for a Section 64 grant is attached. Commercially sensitive information has been redacted. As the agreed project outputs make clear, the 2015-16 Section 64 grant funding awarded to ASH will be spent in the current financial year, including work relating to preparation for legislation coming into force later in 2016. 



ASH Budget estimates
(PDF Document, 605.52 KB)

Mental Illness: Students

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We have made no assessment of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues as this information is not collected centrally.

Prescriptions: Students

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs to the NHS of providing treatment to students who cannot afford to pay for prescriptions and subsequently experience a deterioration in their health.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We have not made such an assessment. Where a student has difficulty in paying for their prescriptions, they may be able to get help through the National Health Service low income scheme, which may provide exemption from the prescription charge, and help with other health costs, on the basis of a means-tested assessment. They may also be entitled through other exemptions (for example based on medical condition, maternity or though receipt of a qualifying benefit, for example, child tax credit), or, if they have to pay and need many prescription items, can purchase a Prescription Prepayment Certificate to minimise the cost.

Prescriptions: Students

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prescriptions, per year, are (1) made for students aged 19–25, and (2) not collected by students aged 19–25.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prescriptions, per year, are (1) made for adults aged 70–76, and (2) not collected by adults aged 70–76.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We do not collect this information.

Zika Virus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how and when they intend to introduce and implement a comprehensive plan in relation to the Zika virus to (1) inform fully the British public about that virus, (2) advise on travel to Central and South America in the light of that virus' prevalence in that region, and (3) clarify all known means of transmission of that virus.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre have issued travel advice to people who may be travelling to the affected countries, particularly pregnant women and provided information for the general public through the NHS Choices website. PHE has been working with appropriate professional groups to develop information and guidance on Zika for clinicians. They have worked in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop specifically targeted at primary care which is available on the PHE website and has been cascaded by the RCGP. A copy of this guidance is attached. PHE have also issued a Central Alerting System update alert letter to clinicians, which includes specific information and guidance about Zika virus and pregnancy and general guidance on Zika virus and travel. A copy of this is attached. Although some evidence of sexual transmission exists and there is the possibility that blood transfusions may be able to transmit the virus this will be very rare. Transmission from mother to fetus via the placenta is also possible. If a person acquires Zika abroad and becomes ill on their return to the United Kingdom, mosquito-borne transmission will not occur as the mosquito is not present in the UK. Information on these issues is available on the PHE website. The Government continues to monitor this situation very closely and will continue to take action as appropriate.  



Guidance for clinicians
(PDF Document, 104.58 KB)




Central Alert System letter to clinicians
(PDF Document, 238.15 KB)

Health

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 July 2014 (HL939), what was the ranking of the UK in the Health at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators report for (1) infant mortality, (2) numbers of MRI and CT Scanners, (3) low birth weight infants, (4) overweight and obesity amongst adults, (5) overweight and obesity amongst children, (6) mortality from cardiovascular disease, and (7) mortality from cancer; how these rankings compared to those for 2013; and what plans they have to improve the UK rankings.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The United Kingdom’s rankings among OECD member states (as shown by the 2015 and 2013 Health at a Glance reports) are the following: Health at a Glance 2013Health at a Glance 2015Infant mortality25th lowest out of 3419th lowest out of 34Low birth weight infants21st lowest out of 3421st lowest out of 34MRI units7th lowest out of 284th lowest out of 32CT scanners3rd lowest out of 293rd lowest out of 32Obesity among adults28th lowest out of 3427th lowest out of 34Overweight and obesity among children (measured)18th lowest out of 3432th lowest out of 33Mortality from cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease)19th lowest out of 3318th lowest out of 34Mortality from cardiovascular disease (cerebrovascular disease)22nd lowest out of 3314th lowest out of 34Mortality from cancer25th lowest out of 3326th lowest out of 34 The Government welcomes the OECD reports as an authoritative contribution to the development of health policy in the UK. For the health service in England, we have taken note of the OECD’s findings. The underlying data on health outcomes informs the development of our mandates and other guidance to the health and care system, in particular to NHS England and Public Health England.

Health Services: Prisons

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that learning disabilities services are commissioned by the NHS in every prison in England.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England, NHS England and the National Offender Management Service commission individual health and wellbeing needs assessments (HNAs) in all prisons and young offender institutions in England on a regular basis. An HNA identifies the health needs of the population for which health services will be commissioned in that establishment, which includes learning disabilities. NHS England commissions health services to standard specifications which ensures that evidence-based clinical standards of care are delivered in individual prisons.

Wheelchairs

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of operating wheelchair services in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much NHS England spent on the purchase of wheelchairs in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information on the cost of operating wheelchair services in England is not available centrally. Such information as is available is from reference costs, which are the average unit costs to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services to patients. The total cost of operating wheelchair services reported in 2014-15 reference costs was £143.4 million. NHS England advises that as clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning wheelchair services, it does not collect data on how much is spent on the purchase of wheelchairs. NHS England is however supporting improvement in wheelchair services and has just established a new national data collection. This will enable tracking at local and national levels of issues such as the number of wheelchair users, the costs of services and the length of time people have to wait.

Wheelchairs

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the responses received on the NHS mandate consultation asked for an improvement in wheelchair services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: At least 170 responses were received that called for improvements to National Health Service wheelchair services. It should be noted that due to limitations in the analysis of large volumes of unstructured e-mail data received during the consultation it is possible that this is an under-estimate.

Hepatitis

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by NHS England Improving Value for Patients from Specialised Care: Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services, what progress has been made to establish collaborative commissioning arrangements for hepatitis C services and how many Clinical Commissioning Groups have come forward with proposals for the collaborative commissioning of hepatitis C services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The report by NHS England Improving Value for Patients from Specialised Care: Commissioning Intentions 2016/17 set out the probable areas for specialised services work planned for 2016/17. Hepatitis C is one pathway which was identified as providing an opportunity for collaborative commissioning. Operational Delivery Networks now provide a local focus for discussions between providers and commissioners on the hepatitis C pathways. Local specialised commissioning teams will work with other local stakeholders where opportunities for a collaborative approach are agreed as a local priority. No formal requests for proposals have been requested, nor have any proposals yet been received.

Hepatitis

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether funding will be provided to NHS Trusts as part of the Operational Delivery Network model to fund hepatitis C treatment services through either (1) a block contract, or (2) a tariff.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) provide expert specialist oversight of prescribing decisions on hepatitis C. Funding has been provided via Commissioning and Quality Innovation Payment (CQUIN) and it is NHS England’s intention to continue with CQUIN funding in 2016/17 and 2017/18. When a patient attends NHS services for treatment of hepatitis C, their attendance is included in the national tariff. Depending on the specific nature of their healthcare need, their care may be paid for by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or by NHS England’s specialised services hubs according to coding and whether the care they receive is defined as a prescribed specialised service. Some patients may have aspects of their hepatitis C treatment provided by other services (such as drugs and alcohol services) which are not funded by the NHS. NHS England is the responsible commissioner for hepatitis C drugs. These are high cost drugs and so are excluded from the national tariff. NHS England’s plan for future hepatitis C funding is being finalised at the moment. As NHS England are working with ODN clinical leads to plan to ensure that patients with unmet clinical need are treated via hepatitis C ODNs in a planned way over the coming years.

Chiropody: Training

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an impact assessment was carried out regarding removing bursaries for students of podiatry; and if so, with what result.

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what options they are considering to ensure that the student numbers for podiatry are maintained after August 2017.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department will run a consultation on how the funding reforms for nursing, midwifery and allied health education can be most successfully implemented. We currently expect to consult during March 2016. As part of this, an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment will be published. Health Education England (HEE) will continue to have a key leading role in the commissioning of nursing, midwifery and allied health courses. It will continue to provide sufficient clinical placement funding for those places needed to meet the workforce planning needs of the National Health Service.

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary: Accident and Emergency Departments

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of the Accident and Emergency department at Calderdale Royal Hospital to treat additional patients from the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary catchment area in the event that the proposed closure of the Accident and Emergency department at the Royal Infirmary goes ahead.

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of changes to the journey times for patients in the event that the Accident and Emergency department at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary is closed.

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on mortality rates arising from changes to journey times for patients if the proposed closure of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s Accident & Emergency department goes ahead.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base; and (iv) support for patient choice. All commissioners proposing reconfiguration must include an analysis of travelling times and distances in their Pre-Consultation Business Case. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. We expect the local NHS to undertake robust analysis of the impact of any proposed significant changes to services as part of the case for change.

Hepatitis: Drugs

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the collaborative commissioning arrangements for new hepatitis C medicines outlined in the report by NHS England Improving Value for Patients from Specialised Care, Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services will include plans to ensure that the areas covered by Operational Delivery Networks and Clinical Commissioning Groups are coterminous.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has been supporting Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to identify the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that are relevant to their geography. In many cases boundaries are co-terminous and this will assist in communications. Where this is not the case, this will mean that CCGs, ODNs, and NHS England commissioning hubs will work across a wider footprint to collaborate on relevant matters.

Mental Health Services: Children

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to improve support for children and young people with mental health problems.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Children and young people’s mental health is a priority area for this Government and it is committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in Mind, the report published jointly by the Department and NHS England in March 2015. This is supported by an additional investment of £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament. A copy of Future in Mind is attached. Progress has been made on many of the key ambitions set out in Future in Mind. One significant development being that Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing have been produced covering the full spectrum of mental health issues, from prevention to intervention for emerging or existing mental health problems. LTPs also address the full spectrum of need, for every clinical commissioning group (CCG) in the country. The Local Government Association have produced a spreadsheet giving details of LTPs. A copy of this spreadsheet is attached. Work is in progress to strengthen the capacity and capability of the workforce and to improve data and information in order to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind by 2020. In addition, the Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme is continuing to be rolled out across the country. Progress has also been made on making help and support to children and young people available online through the launch of an online hub for children and young people on the NHS Choices website and further investment made into a campaign to reduce stigma and discrimination as proposed in Future in Mind. All CCGs, working closely with their partners, have developed and submitted LTPs to transform their local offer for children and young people’s mental health. Plans cover the whole spectrum of services from prevention to intervention for emerging or existing mental health problems and address the full spectrum of need.



Future in Mind
(PDF Document, 1.65 MB)




Local Transformation Plans
(Excel SpreadSheet, 42.22 KB)

Hives

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research is being carried out into urticaria, and whether they plan to increase funding for research into the condition.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is recruiting patients to an international dose-finding study of QGE031 as add-on therapy to evaluate efficacy and safety in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including urticaria. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Social Services

Lord Lansley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many local authorities with a social care responsibility have made local authority-funded care available for those with less than substantial care needs, in each of the last five years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The following table shows where local authorities set their local eligibility criteria within the eligibility framework set out in the statutory guidance Prioritising Need in the Context of Putting People First: A whole system approach to eligibility for social care.  CriticalSubstantialModerateLow2010/11*----2011/1231212532012/1331271932013/1431301632014/15**---- Source: ADASS Budget Survey* Data not collected** Data not published The Care Act 2014 provides the power for Secretary of State to set national eligibility criteria. The national criteria are set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015, which were implemented in April 2015. The national eligibility threshold is set at a level where an adult’s needs have a significant impact on their wellbeing. Local authorities cannot tighten eligibility above this threshold, but they can choose to meet needs below this threshold.

Social Services: Older People

Lord Lansley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate to be the total number of older people accessing local authority-funded social care in each of the last seven years, expressed in numbers and as proportion of the total relevant age group.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Until 2013-14, the Health and Social Care Information Centre collected Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) data from local authorities. These data included the number of people aged 65 and over receiving local authority arranged social care services and are shown in the table. The information collected does not distinguish between local authority funded and local authority arranged care. YearClients aged over 65 receiving services during the periodAs a percentage of the population aged 65 and over2007-081,220,66015%2008-091,215,57515%2009-101,147,69514%2010-111,064,47512%2011-12991,23011%2012-13895,94010%2013-14853,6159%Source: RAP P1 return and Office of National Statistics Mid Year Population Estimates RAP was replaced after 2013-14 with the present system, which collects data in a different way that is not directly comparable with the previous system. During 2014-15, 602,885 service users aged 65 and over accessed long term support and 184,645 accessed short term support from their local authority. As a proportion of the population aged 65 and over, these two figures combined represent 8.3% of the total population of the same age.

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether the recently approved application by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 will be performed on embryos specifically created for research or only on those considered to be surplus to infertility treatments; whether that research application included any application for the creation of embryos; and if not, why the person responsible requested that reference to surplus embryos should be removed from the research project title.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that this research project will make use of donated embryos that were originally created for treatment purposes. An application was not made to create embryos for the purposes of this research project. The removal of ‘surplus’ from the title does not reflect a change in the way embryos will be donated to the research.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the planned future HPV vaccine programme will also cover elimination of genital warts.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls and as this is a competitive tender, it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of that exercise. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service. The Department is considering the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding HPV vaccination for men who have sex with men. Consideration will be given to the procurement of vaccine.

Game: Lead

Lord Krebs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recommendations they have made about what is a safe level of consumption of lead-shot game for children.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has identified the particular risk to children who frequently consume lead shot game. The FSA has advised since 2012 that those consuming high levels of such game should reduce their intake, and that this is especially important for vulnerable consumers such as children and pregnant women. This advice was widely reported in the media and on special interest group websites when it was published. The FSA reissued this advice last year. This advice is part of wider food safety advice on NHS Choices. The FSA is considering what further action is required to raise awareness of their advice, particularly with vulnerable groups such as parents and carers of young children.

Cancer: Drugs

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the new revised list of treatments available via the Cancer Drugs Fund will ensure increased access for patients to effective treatment.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is reprioritised on a regular basis so that the resources available are focussed on the drugs providing the greatest benefit to patients. All decisions on drugs to be maintained in the CDF are based on the best available evidence, the cost of the treatment and the advice of clinicians.The Government remains committed to the CDF and in 2015/16 £340 million has been invested in the Fund. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are currently consulting on draft proposals on the future direction of the CDF. The consultation is open until 11 February 2016.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Department of Health has had with NHS England about agreeing a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours. Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care. The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended. On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers. Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop the model of co-location of urgent and emergency primary care service with accident and emergency departments.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering urgent and emergency care. A copy is attached. This provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency departments.Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from the majors/admission stream and that where urgent care centres are co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer of patients.



Safer, Faster, Better
(PDF Document, 896.76 KB)

Health Services: Social Enterprises

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of social enterprises in delivering high-quality healthcare services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is a statutory obligation that decisions on healthcare provision should be taken independently by local commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must decide how to use their resources in a way which is evidence based, clinically-led and cost-effective in order to provide high-quality healthcare for people in their area. CCGs must also balance both short-term need and long-term transformation in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View’s (5YFV) objectives. However, the Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS 5YFV. The NHS 5YFV partners have recently published an updated national support package for the vanguards, ‘The Forward View into action: New Care Models support for the vanguards’, which emphasises the importance of drawing on the expertise and resources of the voluntary and social enterprise sector. A copy of the updated support package document is attached.



The Forward View into Action
(PDF Document, 1013.46 KB)

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5341), what consideration the NHS has given to offering to share outcome data with test providers, where suitable consents can be captured, on the forthcoming re-procurement of the NHS regional genetics labs, such as from the National Cancer Intelligence Network; and what assessment they have made of the impact of doing so on their procurement process, in the light of the experience of Genomic Enterprise.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is currently finalising the service specification for a forthcoming procurement for genomic laboratory services. The issues around sharing outcome data are under broader consideration as part of the wider genomics programme.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5343), what assessment Genomic England or the NHS has made of the Broad Institute’s TARGET database of clinically actionable mutations, and whether they have anything further to add to that answer in the light of the fact that a mutation is not clinically actionable unless a drug is available that targets it.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Genomics England is familiar with the Broad Institute’s database and it is one of a number of data sources that will be included in their clinical interpretation process.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344), when Genomic England expects to have reported back to patients from the pilot phase on (1) 100 patients, (2) 250 patients, (3) 500 patients, (4) 1000 patients, and (5) all patients.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Genomics England has set an objective to deliver 8,000 clinical reports by the end of 2016. The precise details of the reports from the pilot and main phases will become clearer once the phenotypic data is collected and linked to the genome data.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5345), how many of the 20 patients with reports issued so far by the Genomic England cancer project had (1) a clinically actionable mutation for which the NHS will reimburse the costs of the treatment drug, and (2) a clinically actionable mutation for any trial currently open in the UK; and of those patients in both categories, how many had a clinically actionable mutation in open reading frames that would be covered by a simple next-generation sequencing panel test.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The patients with clinically actionable reports from the pilot phase are from rare diseases where improved knowledge of the causal mutation improves the management of the patient, their family members and possible future reproductive decisions. The patients diagnosed by whole genome sequencing had not been diagnosed using existing National Health Service panel tests. We are still evaluating the data from the 100,000 Genomes project to identify options for panel testing or other clinical sequencing strategies.

NHS Improvement

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money is being spent by NHS Improvement on a re-design of that organisation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The forecast spend for the design of NHS Improvement is £800,000. This includes the development of a single organisational structure and new operating model to better support the National Health Service to drive improvements.

Osteoporosis

Baroness Quin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Data are not collected on the average waiting time for a result to be given for a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Data are collected on the average waiting time from referral to test, and these are shown in the following table for the four NHS England commissioning regions for most recent period, which is November 2015. Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales. Table: average median waiting times in weeks for a DEXA scan from referral by NHS England commissioning region, November 2015 RegionNumber of weeksNorth of England2.1Midlands and East of England1.7London1.8South of England1.8England1.9